First Chair
by ManaketeSmoocher
Summary: [Modern AU] As a rather young person who skipped a grade, 13 year old Leon finds himself a bit intimidated by his new high school. Luckily, his skills with violin secure him the respect of the entire orchestra. He even makes a friend! Though, that's actually completely unrelated. How did that happen?


**A/N - There are a few things I should mention before you read this!**

 **First off, Leon is a trans guy. If you don't know what the 'binder' he mentions is, it's an article of clothing used to bind breasts down to make it look like the wearer's chest is flat.**

 **Secondly, Soapy is my MU and they use all pronouns (he/him, she/her, they/them, etc.) but as this fic is from Leon's PoV, Leon uses he/him pronouns when it comes to Soapy. When Marx (Xander, if you don't know the original Japanese name) talks about them, he will use she/her pronouns, and when Camilla talks about them, she will use they/them. It sort of just varies from person to person, so go with the flow I guess?**

 **Soapy's appearance is pretty much just the generic short (male) Kamui/Corrin, but with the scar across the bridge of their nose (Facial Feature 3 on Kamui Customizer) and the sort of boring, neat hairstyle (Hair 8 on Kamui Customizer). They also use Face 5 on the Kamui Customizer. Kamui Customizer can be found here:** **if you copy/paste it into the URL bar and delete the parenthesis!**

 **Anyways, sorry this was so long, but my two things are important to this fic and all other Fates fics I'm going to be posting in the future!**

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Leon, as well as his other siblings, had been exclusively taught one classical string instrument since a very young age. Katerina had been very fond of orchestral music, and this seemed to pass down almost genetically to her only son. Marx himself chose the cello. He wasn't asking for the spotlight, after all. Despite Katerina's untimely death, Camilla found that she very much wanted to play the double bass. The warm, foundation of the symphony almost seemed to be her calling, and fit well with her motherly nature. Garon insisted on hiring highly skilled private lesson tutors for his two eldest children, spending quite a large sum on daily lessons. He didn't let up until the two had proved themselves worthy of practicing on their own, at which point he finally agreed to limit the lessons to once a week.

Surrounded by the rather constant playing of string music, it didn't take long for Leon and Elise to feel the urge to learn their own instruments. Leon rather easily picked the violin, for the sole purpose of showing off. Elise took a shining to the viola for reasons nobody knew, though it was likely because she wanted the whole family to play music together. The beginning of Leon's violin playing was initially abysmal, but through a lot a embarrassment and hard work, he improved drastically. In addition to his hard work maintaining the highest possible grades in school, he entered a multitude of musical competitions. His two years spent in middle school placed him in the highest orchestra, where he outshone every other student in the room.

At age thirteen, he was starting his freshman year of high school, and though his dysphoria got worse as he kept growing, he pushed it to the side when he played. In a way, music was a sort of escape from reality. He could focus solely on the notes, dynamics, and tempo, with nothing else significant enough to bother him. His first day of high school had him feeling very small. Standing at only 5'1" and donning a thick pair of dark, almost eggplant purple glasses, the sheer number and size of the people surrounding him made him nervous. The only advantage he supposed he had was that he knew where the orchestra room was. That, and he was rather early to school. Leon weaved through the crowd of older students and went to his destination as quickly as he could manage, but he still somehow ended up bumping into someone. The force wasn't enough to knock either of them over, but it certainly made the two of them stumble and rub their sore body parts. Leon took a breath, his chest feeling rather tight.

"Sorry, I'm just trying to get to the orchestra room." He mumbled, looking past the stranger and toward the music building.

"Oh, that's fine!" Leon realized he was probably supposed to be looking at the person and he felt his heart thump a little harder. "My name is Soapy, by the way. How 'bout you?"

"Leon…" He mumbled, staring into the other's strange red eyes. His skin was rather fair, his hair pale as well. A distinct scar ran horizontally over the bridge of his nose. "What kind of name is Soapy?" Soapy giggled.

"My little sister is named Foamy. I guess our family is just weird." He grabbed Leon's hand, starting to walk towards the music hall. "You said orchestra, right?" Leon blushed, taking his hand back. His masculinity was fragile enough without people knowing he was pretty gay.

"Yeah…" He glanced at Soapy's outfit, noticing that he wasn't wearing pants. He instead wore tight black leggings. "I play violin." Soapy also seemed to refrain from wearing shoes, as his feet were completely bare. His large, white dress shirt covered enough of his lower half to avoid being dress coded, though Leon would be lying if he said he didn't wish it was shorter.

"Wow, that's super cool! I play trombone kinda. But I'm way better at piano. My cousin also plays piano I guess but she's way more into singing. She actually goes here already! But she's a sophomore, so I guess I won't be seeing her much." Leon blinked.

"Oh. I don't know if I have any cousins." It was the truth. He didn't even know who his mother was. "I have three siblings though. My older sister is a senior starting this year." He pulled his phone out. It had a personalized case with his family crest and name on it, as well as a tomato charm. "Do you have a phone? I'd stay and talk, but I want to get to orchestra early."

"Who doesn't have a phone, silly?" Soapy giggled. "Well, I actually only got this a few weeks ago, so I guess I shouldn't be saying that." He pulled his phone out. Leon was surprised to see that it was a flip phone, but didn't say anything. Soapy handed it to him, and he managed to exchange their numbers despite the unfamiliarity of the simple phone.

"So, I guess I'll text you at lunch?" He would rather not be the lame little brother who clung to his older siblings, after all. Soapy looked awkward.

"Umm, m-maybe you could call me instead?" He closed his phone, putting it in some hidden inner pocket of his shirt. Leon raised a brow.

"Okay..?" He supposed it would be hard to text on a flip phone. "I, umm… I'll see you later."

He turned to walk away, but Soapy pulled him into a brief hug. Leon tensed, but before he could even think about hugging back, Soapy was running off. He was an interesting person, though he supposed with Odin and Niles as his friends, he was just the sort who attracted odd friends. Shaking the thought away, he walked the rest of the way to the orchestra room, violin case in hand. After a brief conversation with the director, he sat in the chair that had been assigned as his and began the usual maintenance and tuning of his instrument. After finishing that and playing a quick scale, he carefully put the wooden object back in its case and pulled out a book to read until the bell rang.

When it did, Leon put his book away, seeing that the director was passing out music. Names were written at the top of the first page, so as to show what chair everyone was supposed be without the hassle of informing everyone individually. Upon receiving his part, he scanned the piece. He was interrupted near the end. A rather tall looking person was looking at him expectantly, and Leon thought they looked rather cross. They cleared their throat before speaking.

"I think you're sitting in my seat." Leon frowned, his answer quiet.

"The director told me to sit here." The upperclassman looked frustrated.

"Are you sure you didn't hear wrong? I've been first chair for two years now."

"And I've been first chair since I was seven." Leon stated, returning his focus to the music.

"And how old are you? You barely look ten. This isn't some little kid orchestra."

"I'm thirteen." Before the older classmate could retort, the director walked to the front of the room, waving the baton as a sign for silence.

"Places, everybody! I want to make sure you've kept your sight reading skills up to par, so let's read some of our most difficult music at full tempo, no stopping, and no dying!" The sound of paper shuffling. "The first violin solo is tough, so good luck, Leon."

Leon started slightly at the sound of his name and nodded quickly. Soft whispers went around as last year's first chair sat in second chair. Scanning the solo, Leon smirked. He'd played this piece on his own time in the past and had it memorized. This was his chance to prove that he both deserved first chair, and that he was better than anyone else in the room could even hope to be. He adjusted his glasses, readying his violin.

The conductor started them off almost without warning. Several people fell behind, not noticing the subtle accelerando. The tempo was almost ridiculously fast, and the technique required was insane for sight reading. Accidentals and odd time signatures were everywhere, paired with difficult rhythms. Having already made himself familiar with the arrangement and being gifted at sight reading anyways, Leon was one of the very few who didn't falter in his playing, his notes ringing out near-perfectly.

Time came for his solo, and, without missing a beat, he stood from his chair. His bow struck his strings with intensity, and he poured his determination to prove himself into his playing. Sweat formed on his brow, and his eyes squeezed shut with concentration. Angry staccatos and grandiose accents blended with the flurry of notes, and when he finished he had to catch his breath. Leon realized with a start that the rest of the orchestra had stopped playing. He suddenly felt nervous. Had he messed up?

Slow applause started up, fueled by the orchestra director. The rest of the class joined in as well, and Leon felt a grin making its way onto his face. He toned it down to be a self-confident smirk, and he sent a gloating sort of glance to the person sitting in second chair. Said person looked embarrassed, looking away, and Leon felt more than satisfied. Making eye contact with the orchestra director, he was tempted to sit down, but they started talking before he could.

"Well, I see you added some notes and changed some things stylistically. I wasn't expecting you to stand up." Leon's response was almost robotic.

"What sort of soloist sits on his behind when it's his time to shine?" It was something his private lesson teacher used to say to him constantly, back when he could barely play the simplest pieces while standing. He also hadn't realized he was changing things about the solo. A glance at his sheet music showed that it was a simpler version than the one he had memorized. "I don't think I messed up. Why did everyone stop playing?" The director laughed.

"Your skill was too much for them, I guess. Camilla was the only one left playing when you finished your solo. No one else could keep up." Leon turned to look at his big sister. She smiled and waved in a way that would seem overly flirtatious if she was anyone else.

"Well, the rest of them need to better themselves if they want any chance keeping up with me."

Leon sat back down, and the majority of the orchestra looked both offended and inspired. He adjusted his glasses before flipping his bangs out of his eyes. After a moment of silence, the director told them to play through once more, without stopping. Leon contemplated simplifying his solo, but ended up deciding against it. Sure, he'd proved his worth as a violinist, but that didn't mean he would let up. He did allow himself to stay seated, however. The rest of first period passed with less eventful circumstances. Last year's first violinist approached him as he put his instrument away, apologizing for doubting him and informing him that he'd earned their respect. After nodding and accepting both his apology and respect, Leon was assaulted by a rather soft and tight hug from behind. He felt himself being lifted from the ground, and immediately knew there was only one person who would do such a thing.

"C-Camilla!" He blushed, embarrassed that she was threatening the respect he'd just earned.

"That was wonderful!" She kissed him affectionately on the cheek, ruffling his hair. Leon attempted to escape, but to no avail. "Though I have to say, you were getting a bit sluggish towards the end." He frowned, turning to look up at his sister. She let him go, instead crossing her arms under her ample bosom.

"I know. I haven't played it in a while, so I was starting to forget the notes."

The bell rang shortly after the two had finished putting their instrument in their rightful places, and Camilla confirmed that her 'adorable baby brother' knew where his next class before nearly suffocating him in a hug. She left him to find the room by himself when she saw a short mess of bright red hair, and smoothed his hair down before greeting her girlfriend. Leon continued on to class and nearly fell asleep from how boring it was. He hated the first day of school. The only thing keeping him awake was how much his chest was starting to hurt. He was tempted to skip eating lunch with Soapy and just lock himself in a bathroom stall so he could take his binder off in privacy.

Leon resisted this urge, mostly because he really wanted to befriend the other boy. He was definitely attractive (in Leon's eyes), and he seemed rather pleasantly friendly. It would be a nice change of pace from Odin's constant roleplaying, Niles's questionable conversation topics, Camilla's coddling, Elise's aura of pure innocence, Marx's strangely intimidating presence, and his father's strictness. Not that he'd seen much of his father or brother as of late. They were always busy with the family business. Shaking those thoughts away, he realized that class had ended. Leon stood from his desk, taking his bag with him as he walked out the door. He almost texted Soapy, but recalled the others' request to call him instead. He scrolled down the contact list, realizing with slight embarrassment that he barely had any numbers saved. Tapping the call button, he put the phone up to his ear.

"Hello?" Soapy responded after only one ring, yawning slightly.

"It's Leon. I was wondering if you wanted to eat lunch with me?" A giggle sounded from the other end, and Leon hoped he didn't sound nervous.

"Yeah! That'd be lots of fun. Let's meet up in the music lobby?" His voice had been almost lethargic when he picked up the phone, but he seemed energetic at that point.

Leon let out a sound of agreement and the two of them exchanged goodbyes. He thought he heard Soapy saying something to someone named Felicia, but the line went dead before he could try to figure out what it was. The younger boy made his way to the lobby, and upon seeing that he had arrived first, leaned against the nearest wall. He groaned, feeling his chest hurting more than it had been previously. It was obvious to him that he'd been binding for too long already, but he still had lunch, two class periods, and a search for Camilla to drive him home at the end of the day. Slumping against the wall, he closed his eyes and groaned, sliding down to sit on the ground. People came and went through the lobby, but Leon didn't bother trying to recognize them, or pick out Soapy from the crowd. He was sure the other boy would be able to spot him, and if not, well, Leon was fine with being alone.

He found that he was starting to get a headache, and wished the noise around would stop. His stomach was also expressing its hunger with pain at random intervals. Somehow, he managed to have forgotten his lunch, and he hadn't bothered to bring his money with him. Leon's mood dropped from looking forward to being with Soapy to wanting to skip the rest of school and go home. He probably would have done just that if he hadn't heard Soapy's laugh enter the lobby.

Leon looked towards the sound, adjusting his glasses and realizing that most of the crowd had gone, save for a few stragglers. His eyes focussed on Soapy, who seemed to be receiving a piggyback ride from a girl with pink hair pulled back into a ponytail. They seemed to be having a good time. Leon suddenly noticed that Soapy was wearing sandals, though he kicked them off almost immediately after getting off of the girl's back. The two of them laughed, and Soapy pulled her into a hug before they kissed each other's cheeks. Soapy waved goodbye, and they parted. Leon drew his knees up to his chest, feeling jealous of the exchange. The barefooted individual plopped down next to him, and Leon noted that he had a rather large lunch. When Soapy didn't greet him properly, Leon jumped straight into conversation.

"... Who was that? Your girlfriend?" He mumbled the second sentence a little, but he was sure Soapy heard him.

"Oh, that's Felicia. We've been really good friends since we were kids, haha! She's like a clumsy big sister to me." Soapy giggled, biting into a cookie. Leon stared at the cookie, feeling some sort of relief at that. "Why? You think she's cute or something?" Leon let out an involuntary laugh an immediately regretted it. His chest hurt.

"I… don't usually like girls." He muttered, putting a hand on his chest.

"Ohhhh. Yeah, me too." Leon blushed slightly, and Soapy giggled. He was about to shove the rest of his cookie into his mouth, but stopped himself. "Do you want the rest of this?"

"Only if you feed it to me." He mumbled, not expecting Soapy to actually do anything.

"Homp!" Soapy poked the cookie fragment through his lips before digging his hand into his lunch bag. "Where's your lunch, anyways?"

"I-I, umm." He cleared his throat, chewing the sweet pastry and swallowing before answering. His blush was getting a bit embarrassing. "I forgot it at home." Like an idiot. Leon winced slightly, a pang of hunger hitting him. "Sorry, I'm not feeling too good…" He frowned, trying to ignore the various pains he was suffering from.

"Aww… Do you wanna use my lap as a pillow?" Soapy adjusted his position on the floor to be more comfortable to lie on. "I've been told my thighs are very cushion-y."

"You're an angel." Leon stated, taking glasses off and accepting his offer. He was a little embarrassed but pleasantly surprised by it. Soapy leaned down to kiss his forehead, and Leon blushed.

"Hungry? I have real food I can give you." His right, dominant hand rifled through his lunch bag while the other brushed through Leon's hair. "Oh gosh, your hair is really nice and soft."

"Thank you." He closed his eyes, focusing on the action of Soapy's hand. "And yeah, I'm hungry. I skipped breakfast." Soapy provided him with some fruit, amongst other things.

"How's your day been? Other than feeling like shit right now." He switched hands, brushing through Leon's hair with his dominant one. Leon smiled at the pleasant feeling, and noticed that his head and stomach-ache were going away. He didn't say anything about it though, as he found the situation to be rather satisfying.

"Well, I proved that I more than deserve first chair in the orchestra."

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 ** _Word Count: 3,163_**

 **Hello I headcanon that everyone in Nohr is totally in Orchestra and everyone in Hoshido is totally in Band kay just saying and like Oboro hates orchestra kids like a lot a lot haha**

 **If you don't already know, I'm posting something every day until August 12th, and I would love it if you would check out my profile for more details on the poll I have going right now!**

 **I'll be posting for this specific modern AU Mondays and Tuesdays, but I also have like 3 other Fates AUs planned, as well as 3 Awakening AUs, a Harry Potter fic (Marauder's era), and a How to Train Your Dragon fic!**

 **I'd love it if you could take the time to check them out, and please don't hesitate to PM me if you have any questions!**

 **Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed!**


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